Exile Group Calls For Limit To Cuban Trips

WASHINGTON -- Cuba is propping up its faltering economy by forcing visitors to pay exorbitant rates for hotels and other travel charges, the Cuban American National Foundation said on Tuesday.

Cuban travel and shipping income from the United States last year amounted to $235 million, the foundation said in a report submitted to the White House and the State Department.

Jorge Mas Canosa, the foundation chairman, said that the overcharges undermine the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba.

The foundation, a non-profit advocacy group, recommended that the U.S. government limit travel between the two nations to immigrants, political refugees, journalists, diplomats, academics and those directly involved in humanitarian services. The United States also should limit the amount of U.S. currency visitors can take to Cuba, the report recommended.

``We are not calling for shutting down all travel to Cuba or all remittances to Cuba,`` Mas said. ``We are trying to bring it down to a more reasonable, rational level.``

Travelers from Miami who visit their relatives often are required to spend large sums for a hotel room even if they do not stay in the room, he said.

``This is an extortionist exploitation of Cuban sentiments,`` Mas said.